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Self Assessment Tax Returns and payments

If you are a higher rate tax payer or have income from other sources, you’ll probably need to file a Self Assessment Tax Return for the tax year 6th April – 5th April.

The purpose of Self Assessment is to declare to HMRC all income for a tax year to ensure the right amount of tax is paid. If income has been received that tax has yet to be paid on, for example tax due on dividends, HMRC will collect the tax due via Self Assessment. It is therefore important to be aware of Self Assessment so that money can be put to one side ready to pay HMRC.

Who needs to file a Self Assessment Tax Return?

There are a number of reasons why an individual would need to file a return for a tax year. These include but are not limited to:

Self employment or Paternership income

Income over £100,000 in a tax year

Income over £50,000 and child benefit received into the household

Income from property or land of more than £2,500

Other income that hasn’t been taxed and is more than £2,500

Dividend or savings income of more than £10,000

Need to pay Capital Gains Tax or report losses

Income from overseas

Lived or worked abroad and had UK income

HMRC have a tool to help confirm if a tax return needs to be filed. Simply complete their online questionnaire to check.

While you may not need to complete a Self Assessment tax return if you have had a small amount of untaxed income (see above), you must still inform HMRC if you received:

More than £5,000 in dividend income

Between £1,000 and £2,500 in any other untaxed income such as rental income

HMRC letter – Notice to complete a tax return

When an individual is registered for Self Assessment, HMRC will send a ‘notice to complete a tax return’ as a reminder. These are normally sent shortly after 5th April when the tax year has ended.

If HMRC do not send a notice to complete a tax return, please get in contact and we can check for you – all we will need is your UTR number.

Moved house recently? If your personal details are not up to date at HMRC then you may not receive important correspondence. If you let us know your UTR number we can check your address records are correct with HMRC.

Registering for Self Assessment

When an individual identifies a reason for filing a Self Assessment Tax Return, they must tell HMRC. This is done by completing either an online HMRC form or by downloading and posting a completed SA1 form to HMRC.

It takes HMRC up to 6 weeks to issue an individual with a UTR number. As soon as it arrives, please forward it to your account manager so we can assist with questions and the filing of returns.

Finding your UTR number

An individual Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) will have been issued by HM Revenue & Customs if you have completed a SATR in the past. The UTR is made up of ten digits, e.g. 12345 67890 and can be found on a previously filed tax return, a Notice to complete a tax return or on a Statement of Account. Note that an individual UTR number is different to a Company UTR number.

What we need to complete a Self Assessment Tax Return

Information about an individuals income from your company is normally within the records in our software. There may however be income from other sources that we don’t have which will be required to complete a Self Assessment Tax Return. Examples are:

Interest and dividends received, other than those for your limited company

Pension income received

Rental Income

Capital Gains or Losses

Payments into Personal Pension Schemes

Donations to Charity

P45s, P60s and P11D from previous employments in the tax year

Student Loan deductions or requirement to repay a Student Loan

Any other information which you consider may be required for your Return

Early filing discount We can help prepare and file personal tax returns – simply complete the questionnaire on your dashboard. Don’t forget, to receive the early filing discount on our fees for preparing and filing Self Assessment Tax Returns, your completed homepage questionnaire and any supporting information needs to be with us before 31st October following the tax year end.

Filing and payment deadlines

If you’d like our help with your Self Assessment Tax Returns you can complete the questionnaire on your dashboard that will be displayed after 6th April. We recommend that you complete this as soon as possible after 6th April as due to the numbers we must complete, we do so on a first come first served basis.

The deadline for filing Self Assessment Tax Returns online and making payments is midnight 31st January. We begin work on them as soon as the tax year starts on the 6th April and we recommend filing your tax return as early as possible so you can understand if you owe further tax or if you are due a refund.

Even if your tax return is filed as early as April, you don’t have to make the payment immediately unless it is overdue. The deadlines for paying Self Assessment taxes are:

31st January – for any tax you owe for the previous tax year (known as a balancing payment) and your first ‘Payment on account’

31 July – for your second ‘Payment on account’

Payments on account

Payments on account are advance payments towards the tax bill you will owe for that tax year. It is calculated by looking at your previous year’s tax bill, if this was over £1,000 your payment is automatically calculated and payable in two separate instalments.

The first payment is due on 31st January, the same day as your balancing payment which clears your tax bill for the previous year. The second is due on 31st July. This is designed to help you spread your payments into two more manageable lump sums.

Each instalment is normally 50% of your previous year’s tax bill. For example, if you paid £4,000 in tax for the 2016/17 tax year, you would need to make a Payment on account of £2,000 by 31st January 2018 and the second payment of £2,000 by 31st July 2018.

Unfortunately, this is not a voluntary payment. However, it can be reduced if you think your income will be lower in the current tax year. Please be aware, if you reduce your payment below the amount that actually becomes payable once your 2019 self-assessment return has been completed there will be interest, and potentially penalties, charged on the underpaid amount.

Once your 2018/19 Self Assessment Tax Return is submitted, if the actual amount of tax due is less than the payments on account made then the difference will be refunded by HMRC. If the payments on account are less than the total tax due, the balancing amount will be payable by 31st January 2020.

Making payments to HMRC

You’ll need to make sure HMRC receive your payment before their deadline to avoid any interest. They will also apply a late payment penalty of 5% of the tax due if it remains unpaid by 2nd March. There are different ways to pay HMRC and the time you need to allow for your payment to reach them depends on your payment method.

One of the quickest and safest ways to pay is by using online banking. All you’ll need is to know how much to pay and your individual UTR number. You can find this information in your Self Assessment Tax Return and SA302 tax calculation.

The SA302 is helpful when making payments as it shows the total due by the deadlines and your UTR number. When making a payment using online banking you’ll need give an 11 digit payment reference which is your UTR number followed by the letter ‘K’.

Questions and comments about 'Self Assessment Tax Returns and payments'

How can we help? If you have any questions or comments you can post them here. We'll aim to post a reply as soon as we can. If you're an inniAccounts client you may prefer to contact your account manager.

SKAugust 31, 2013

I started my limited company and became a director in Jan 2013. Prior to that, i.e, from 06 April 2012 till 07 January 2013, I was permanently employed and was paid monthly. (which included tax and NI etc.) I have two separate UTRs – one UTR which I used to file my SA previously (individual UTR) and one Company UTR number (Got it after I registered the company).

Am I right in thinking that I should be filing 1 Self-Assessment Tax Return that is as an individual only ?

Hi, Thanks for your question. HMRC issue a UTR number for individuals that is used when completing a Self Assessment Tax Return. This is a personal tax return and related to an individuals personal taxation for the tax year (6th Apr to 5th Apr). There is also the Company UTR number that is used when a company files its Corporation Tax Return (CT600) at HMRC. The CT600 is filed at the end of the company financial year. You are correct in that for you as an individual you will need to file one SATR per tax year using your individual UTR number. Your company will then file its CT600 using the Company UTR at the end of its financial year. I hope that helps! Matt

DarrenApril 23, 2015

Hi. I registered for self assesment online in February as I have just started to receive a small income from a second job which is self employed. I have not received any code back or confirmation yet? I’ve been on hold for an hour.. 🙁

Hi Elena, if you have been issued with a Self Assessment Tax Return to complete then you cannot ignore this. If you do not think that you are required to complete this based on your income for the year then you will need to contact HMRC to inform them.

AliAugust 12, 2015

I am a doctor and I am submitting my self assessments each year and have a UTR number. This year i have started working privatly as well along with my job. So do I need to register for self employment or I can just fill in my tax return declaring my income from private patients as well.

You still need to register for Self Employment even though you already complete Self Assessment Tax Returns. Please see here for the HMRC Guidance.

HarshaAugust 31, 2015

Hi, I work for a IT firm in UK on Intra company transfer visa nd yi tax i UK. I want to file tax return and do not have a UTR. I applied for self assessment a month ago but heve not recived UTR number. How long it takes to get UTR number?

Hi, I registered as a self employed HMRC, and already I received papers from them and paid my tax, but until now I didn’t receive WELCOME LETTER from HMRC, and my solicitor told me it is important to show home office for applying for marriage visa. I have just 9 days until my appointment at home office, could you tell me what shall I do please. Thanks

Hi Helen. The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April therefore the income that you have received from August 2015 to 5th April 2016 falls into the 2015/16 tax year. Income from 6th April 2016 to date falls into the 2016/17 tax year. You need to register for Self Assessment by 31st October 2016 and you have until 31st January 2017 to file the 2015/16 tax return as long as this is completed online. However if you are renting out furnished accommodation in your home you could earn up to £4,250 tax free for the 2015/16 tax year without the need to complete a tax return. This threshold has increased to £7,500 for the new tax year.

Calogero RussoAugust 15, 2016

I have not received my short tax Return form (SA200) for this tax year yet, last year i completed online, does that mean I won’t get the paper format any more?

If you have completed your form online in the past then HMRC will not send out a paper form.

ALLAN BOWSERMarch 13, 2017

I have received a £100 fine for not sending a self assessment form in for tax year 15/16 . I am 60 yrs old and work durham county council for 33yrs and they sort my tax ect . I am not self employed and have never in my lifetime filled such a form in . So I am at a loss what to do . If you could sort it out and get back to me please

We do not have any authority to speak to HMRC on your behalf so you will need to contact them directly. Please see here for their contact details.

jean gregoryJuly 19, 2017

I was sent an amount of tax to pay on my self assessment form by july but have now received a lesser amount tp pay as result of submitting my 2016/17 form early (before oct deadline) so which amount is owing. just cannot get through on phone .

The original July payment would have been based on your income from the 2015/16 tax year. As you submitted your self assessment return before the July payment was due, the payment would have been recalculated to only collect the balance of the actual amount of tax due for the 2016/17 tax year.

jackieAugust 8, 2018

I have applied for my spouse visa under self employment. I have submitted my sa302 etc but I did not pay the tax I owe because the deadline is 31 January. Will this be fine because I have no arrears just what I owe now which is due on January 31.

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